Printer Sales: HP: Still Way Ahead

IDC’s

Printer Scoreboard, which tracks channel sales, shows a sharp drop in HP’s

market share in September–a crucial 8% within a month–due to a supply crisis

with its best-selling DeskJet 640C. It made up with other models, but #2 Epson

moved in quickly, gaining market share.

In terms of printer products, once again it was HP which led the pack. The

top five products accounted for about 47% of the total printer sales through the

dealer channel. Of this, HP had a share of over 35%, with three of its products

featuring in the top five. Also, HP was able to maintain its August’s market

lead in spite of the severe delivery crisis of its DeskJet 640C. The loss in the

market share due to this model was compensated by its DeskJet 840C and LJ 6L

gold models.

Channel sales

In

September, HP saw its August 48% hold in the printer market dropping to 40%. HP

saw its market share falling on both of its segments–inkjets and lasers. Lack

of stock in the inkjet segment and dull demand in the laser segment saw HP’s

market taking a beating by 7%. Also, Epson cashed in on HP’s short supply and

moved aggressively in the inkjet market, gaining a market share of about three

points. Other gainers were Wipro and Canon.

Leading technologies

The

hold of a single brand on the whole inkjet market is evident in the fall of the

inkjet percentage to 52.2%. HP’s DeskJet 640C delivery problems brought the

inkjets’ share down by over 6% points. Dot matrix gained from this fall as its

sales picked up by over 28% as compared to August 2000, improving its August

market share by 5%. Though laser grew by 25% in unit terms, it could manage only

a percentage increase of its share in the printer market.

Buyer segments

In

terms of volumes, the big opportunity is in the home and SBSO (small

business-small office) segments. In September, these segments had an overall

market share of 65%, a shade below the near-70% in August. While the SBSO

segment maintained the steady demand, the home segment slipped from its August

market share of 26.2% to 21.5%. The increased demand came from the government

segment, which increased its share to 11% from 8.4% in August.

A DQ Report